Spike.



A. M. BARDING.

Y PatentedDEG. 17, 1912.

v Mem/to@ i. fam/n1. may

' arbor/mq ALVA M. HAEDING, or coUDERsroET, rENNsYLvANI'A'.

SPIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Dee.17,1912.

Application ledvMay 20, 1911. Serial No. 628,463.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALvA M. HARDI'NG, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Coudersport, in the county of Potter and State of Pennsylvania, have invented-new andy useful Improvements in Spikes, of which the fol# lowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to a novel and useful form of'spike adapted especially for securing a railway rail to a tie, although it will, of course, be understood that the invention is applicable to other purposes or other uses.

In carrying out my invention, it is my purpose to provide a spike having a shank so formed that'the spike when driven home 7 in a tie can not be easily removed so that the spike when driven into a tie or the like will be 4firmly held in vposition so that the liability of the accidental loosening of the spikedue to jars and shocks of trains passing over the track is greatly reduced.

It is also my purpose to provide a spike embodying in its construction the desired features of simplicity', durability and strength coupled with cheapness of cost and manufacture. y

With the above-recited objects in view and yothers of a similar nature, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts, set forth in and falling within the scope of the appended claim. In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a cross section of a rail, and a portion of `a tie, showing the rail 'attached to the tie through means of my improved spike. Fig.

2 is a perspective view of the spike. Fig. 3

is a cross sectional view of the same, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the accompanying drawjing in detail, the numeral y1 indicates the head of the spike which is of the well-known ,form while 2 designates vthe shank of the spike connected to the head.` This shank is beveled'or sharpened as at itslower end in the usual manner, while intermediate its length such shank is widened or enlarged laterally as at 4, the sides of the shank being curved or bulged outwardly as at 5 to- .y

form such enlargement, the edges of the latter being notched or serrated to more se-y curely engage the fiber of the tie.

By so serrating or notching the enlarged i' approximately elliptical central portion of the spike, the latter when driven 4into jthe wood will be firmly held, as .the Vserrations engage or grip the bers of the wood,`the serrations or teeth being inclined upward,

so that when the spike is driven home in the tie the teeth will embed themselves in they A spike comprising a head portion, a

shank portion, the body of said shank being swelled or enlarged to provide opposite con-k veX faces bulged outwardly of the proximate sides of the shank and each of a widthsub-y stantially equalto the similar dimension of the adjacent side of said shank, the edges of the enlarged portion formed by the sides and ends of the shank being provided with a series of notches. Y

By this con- In testimony whereof I` aiiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALVA M. HARDING.

Witnesses BELLE FoUnNEss, EDWARD FoURNEss.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each,y by addressing the Commissioner of Ilatents,v

Washington, D. C. 

